Why stop at dry January? Make sober inclusivity part of your DEI strategy

Over the last few years, there’s been a sharp increase in the number of people participating in “Dry January,” voluntarily giving up alcohol for the whole month. As you might assume, the benefits are obvious: eliminating alcohol, especially if you’ve over-consumed during the holidays, can improve physical and mental health, help with weight loss and even reduce the risks of many types of cancer.

To support employees who are experimenting with this temporary sobriety, many companies adapt their teambuilding and networking events to steer clear of alcohol, trading their usual Wine Cart Wednesday or Thirsty Thursday for bingo nights or escape room adventures.

This is a fantastic idea, but it also begs the question: What about those who are sober year-round, either by choice or because they’re recovering from alcohol or substance use disorder (SUD)?

Sober employees deserve inclusion, too

Alcohol consumption seems universal and it’s the only drug for which there’s a weird stigma around NOT using it.

But, in fact, some 40% of U.S. adults don’t drink at all, and there’s no question these individuals deserve to be included in workplace bonding and networking activities throughout the year. But far too often, they’re not. When work-related events revolve around alcohol or even simply make it available, those who are in recovery are forced to make a choice: participate and risk a relapse or skip it and miss out on the connection and potential career growth opportunities, simply because they’re less visible.

Employers have a responsibility to create a safe and equitable environment where everyone feels welcome and can take advantage of every opportunity that aligns with their role. Forcing sober employees to opt-out of activities — or worse, announce their sobriety or past substance use as a reason they cannot participate — is discriminatory and exclusionary.

It also puts your company at risk of losing out on the best version of an employee. When they’re not able to feel safe and included, they might withdrawal and scale back their engagement and performance. Ultimately, it could mean losing the employee altogether, should they decide to seek employment elsewhere that alcohol isn’t a central part of the company’s culture.

Why not go dry all year long?

Turning your company’s Dry January observance into a year-round standard practice creates a more inclusive culture in which everyone feels safe, part of the team and able to be their authentic selves without feeling ostracized or singled out.

Creating an alcohol-free company culture also has benefits that extend beyond those for sober employees — it benefits everyone, including the company itself.

It’s widely known that alcohol consumption negatively impacts sleep, leads to greater likelihood of many life-threatening diseases and takes years off your life. This harmful impact on your employees’ health leads directly to higher medical expenses and increased benefit costs for both employees and employers. Alcohol also has proven detrimental effects on work performance, which hurts employees’ advancement opportunities and stymies company innovation and growth.

Given these implications, why would any company condone — much less provide — alcohol for work-related functions?

If you’re ready to make sobriety a part of your DEI and employee wellness programs, here are a few tips that can help:

• Get creative with activities. There are plenty of fun, engaging team activities available that don’t involve alcohol, and tons of resources and ideas available on the web. Just because happy hour is easy, doesn’t mean it’s the only option. A quick internet search can give you well more than a year’s worth of activities. Plus, it might be fun to explore local attractions in your neighborhood beyond the corner bar.

• Establish an open-door policy. Make it clear during employee onboarding and through regular communications that employees who want help for an SUD can ask for it in confidence. It’s essential that they know they won’t be judged, discriminated against or punished for coming forward. Create a formal policy that details how you’ll respond if they come forward (by providing treatment resources) versus letting their alcohol use interfere their work (with a harder line and perhaps an ultimatum to seek treatment).

• Partner with a local substance abuse treatment provider. While encouraging sobriety is a great idea, employers certainly aren’t in a position to facilitate it beyond providing alcohol-free activities and a safe place for sobriety. Partnering with a local treatment provider gives HR a trusted resource to which they can make safe, confidential referrals in the event an employee comes forward and asks for help.

• Maintain mental health benefits. As the economy tightens, many employers feel compelled to cut back on benefits to save money, with mental health coverage often first on the chopping block. This is a mistake and may very well cost more down the road. Ensuring employees can get the mental health treatment they need can actually prevent development of a SUD, which ultimately requires a much more intense and costly intervention.

• Add holistic wellness benefits. Beyond formal mental health coverage, add benefits that support employees’ holistic health. This might include a set number of mental health days they can take off each year with no questions asked, work-from-home or remote work flexibility or flexible hours, guided mindfulness programs, conference room yoga or other health-enriching programs.

• Be mindful of language. It’s best to void cute catchphrases like “sober curious” or “damp January.” For many people, abstaining from alcohol isn’t a fun once-a-year challenge, it’s a matter of life or death, and using this type of language can be perceived as making light of their situation. Instead, just be direct, inclusive and focused on employees’ overall wellbeing.

Now more than ever, your employees need belonging, support and resources to stay healthy. With alcohol consumption soaring during the pandemic (especially among women), and against the backdrop of the opioid crisis, substance use is a real issue that employers can’t ignore or assume that it doesn’t affect their team.

Related: Making room for the sober curious: A new approach for HR in wellness and prevention

Creating an inclusive, alcohol-free environment all year long is the first and easiest step you can take to support the overall health and wellbeing of your employees.

Karen Siegel, HR + Business Development Manager, Delta Hire